


Life Lessons

by TrekFaerie



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Cannibalism, F/M, Serial Killers, Unresolved Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-04-23
Updated: 2013-04-23
Packaged: 2017-12-09 07:01:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 658
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/771373
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrekFaerie/pseuds/TrekFaerie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The most important knowledge isn't gained from a book.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Life Lessons

The worst part about being the daughter of an infamous serial killer-- you know, other than being an orphan and also probably inheriting all that crazy from the bastard-- is that your image is out there, forever. The internet never forgets, someone had told her once, and from the looks on the faces of the kids at every school she transferred to, it never forgives, either.

When the fifth high school ended with CANNIBAL being spray-painted all over her locker and the principal asking, very pointedly, if this was really the right school for her, Will decided that a new approach was needed. He'd become something like an unofficial guardian for her. (Not official, because even though she adored him, she couldn't imagine anyone actually letting him take care of a kid. He could barely take care of himself.) He decided that the best way for her to finish her secondary education would be with home schooling.

But, there was a problem: Who would teach her? Will couldn't; he had enough on his plate to deal with. He started to look through a directory of tutors...

And then, Dr. Lecter offered a suggestion. Surely he was more than educated enough to take care of Abigail's own education; he would become her teacher. Will was thrilled; Abigail was cautious. She wondered what his angle was.

The lessons started out normally enough. He taught her a great many things, things that were on the syllabus and off. He taught her calculus and American history; chemistry and psychology; German, though she could only pick up some phrases and he never seemed entirely comfortable when they did it. But, that was only learning by the book. Dr. Lecter's greatest lessons happened outside, in less-traveled alleyways, and inside, in his kitchen. The lessons in the kitchen were her favorites.

She had learned about skinning and meat preservation from her dad, but she didn't learn how to prepare meat until Dr. Lecter taught her, one night in his kitchen, with a woman's dismembered corpse between them. He taught how to cook-- it's an art, he assured her-- and gave compliments when she did well, making her feel all warm inside

But, she managed to teach him something, too: to honor the body. Lecter made sure to reiterate how low his regard for the women they killed was; to him, they were pigs, cows, chattel, no better than any slaughtered farm animal. But, to Abigail, even pigs and cows deserved to be treated better than he treated the women-- once he got what he needed from the bodies, meat and organs, he just threw the rest away. And she wouldn't stand for it. 

They learned tanning together, from guides they found online, but kept their little projects hidden. While Will wouldn't notice a "pork" dinner or a pillow stuffed with hair in Hannibal's office, he would definitely notice tanned human flesh if they put it on display. Abigail kept hers in a shoebox under her bed, with a picture of her parents and a necklace Hannibal had given her. (He took it off a corpse and gave it to her without thinking anything of it, but Abigail liked to think there was a special meaning behind it.) Hannibal had his in his bedroom as well, and he showed her, once, where he kept them pinned to a corkboard, like butterflies.

When she finished high school, she was disappointed, even as the college acceptance letters started coming in. She was disappointed that her lessons, the official and unofficial ones, were over. She was disappointed that she didn't have an excuse to spend all her time with Hannibal anymore.

And then, she happened to overhear him talking with Will. "She'll require further tutoring as she attends college, of course," he said. "We wouldn't want her falling behind."

Will seemed to agree, but she wasn't listening anymore. The warmth inside her had bloomed again, and she felt butterflies.

**Author's Note:**

> if kacey rohl is reading this i am so sorry for everything i am
> 
> so, so sorry


End file.
